History Heartwarming / InvaderZIM

* ''Walk of Doom''. After Gir strands the two of them by replacing his guidance chip with a cupcake, Zim starts screaming at him... until he sees poor Gir in tears and, in a brief moment of humility, realizes that getting mad at him won't solve their problem and accepts his apology. Subverted, though, in that Gir was just sad that his cupcake was gone.

* This exchange between Zim's robot dad and Billy's AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents in "Parent Teacher Night."

* That waiter who only makes 5 monies every two years is forced to bet 500,000 monies on Zim... and wins over 6 million monies when Zim makes it. He quits his awful job as a waiter immediately. [spoiler:Though this is quickly subverted when the Tallest tie him up and trap him in a ship with Zim that is set to autopilot to fly into a star. Given that [[NegativeContinuity Zim is alive and well in the next episode]], there is a chance the waiter survived as well.]]

* That waiter who only makes 5 monies every two years is forced to bet 500,000 monies on Zim... and wins over 6 million monies when Zim makes it. He quits his awful job as a waiter immediately.

** Of course, then you remember the UnreliableNarrator in play throughout the whole issue, and you realize this is probably all just wishful thinking on Dib's part or at the very least they didn't play out the way Dib claimed.

* In Issue 38, GIR impersonates Dib, convincing everyone that the real Dib is a clone, leading to him being chased into the woods. Gaz is visibly angry about this and, [[HiddenDepths seemingly surprising herself]], she decides to do Dib a favor, convincing GIR-as-Dib to try and expose Zim as an alien, which in the long run ends up ruining Zim's plan of the week.

-->--'''Jhonen Vasquez on why this page really shouldn't exist'''

* The unfinished episode, ''Mopiness of Doom.'' In a nutshell, Dib and Zim realize how much they need their rivalry. [[spoiler: It ends with them shouting insults and death threats at one another, both as happy as can be.]]

** The Tallest themselves give Zim a PetTheDog moment in "Abducted," where they seem genuinely interested in hearing Zim's explanation of the humans [[spoiler: and the Abductors.]]

* For a truly insane yet extraordinary example, the last page of the Magazine/{{Nickelodeon Magazine}} comic: [[spoiler: Zim offers Dib to come with him to a planet consisting of giant space bunnies and soda after Zim becomes Earth's overlord and plans to destroy it via killer robots. Dib actually accepts, followed by the last picture being of the two guys doing just that and having the time of their lives.]] Negated some since it's EsotericHappyEnding incarnate and was most likely meant as a joke, but the show considered, how this situation could have went, and how much [[spoiler: the two have downer endings, Dib especially]] it still counts.

* At the end of the second issue, after a long spaceship chase taking them halfway across the universe, Zim asks Dib for a ride "home". Not "back to Earth", or "back to my base", he calls the Earth his ''home''. [[spoiler: Though the context ultimately subverts it.]]
* At the end of Issue 5, [[spoiler: Dib apologizes to Gaz for interrupting her game and he asks if she'd be willing to play video games with him and she accepts both.]] Unfortunately, this gets subverted since [[spoiler: Gaz is a SoreLoser.]]
** Given there's no question that [[spoiler: Gaz went overboard in obtaining her "justice"]], just that fact that [[spoiler: Dib harbors no ill will towards her after all she put him through and genuinely just wants to be a decent brother to her.]] That takes a high caliber of bravery/compassion to almost stupidity levels.

* In Issue 9, [[spoiler: after all of the ridiculous chores that Zim makes "Derb" do, he decides to reward "Derb" by bringing him to his special place: a miniature galaxy where Zim likes to spend personal time.]] Gets subverted in that [[spoiler: Zim also goes there to destroy the planets and then tries to get "Derb" to do the same.]]
** At the comic's end, [[spoiler: Dib actually gets one positive comment out of the sea of hate. The commenter does admit they believe the video was fake, but they still said it was their favorite show and that Mothman was awesome.]]
* Issue 10 has a cute little space cat that quickly took a liking to Dib, although [[spoiler: it turns out to be the snarl beast that Zim was looking for.]]
** Taking a look at how the snarl beast was fighting Zim or just being intimidating, one could possibly interpret it as [[spoiler: it really trying to protect Dib like a guard dog, or at the very least it never made any real attempt to harm Dib.]]

* In Issue 14, [[spoiler: Gaz has to keep Dib from going into a depressive state for a certain amount of time in order to prevent him from exploding due to accidentally drinking a substance created by Membrane. It was her fault to begin with since she unknowingly slipped Dib the vile because he was hogging the TV and apparently it was Dib's turn to choose where the family went for dinner night (and of course Bloaty's was selling a pair of multi-pocket shorts that Gaz really wanted), but throughout the comic it's clear her major concern was making sure that Dib didn't explode and only brought up going to Bloaty's about once if any. She pretty much goes all out for this too by having her fellow gamers participate in an elaborate scheme posing as different cryptic creatures in order to make Dib feel like he is a great paranormal investigator. And when it turns out that Dib's camera was on the wrong setting and he was afraid Batflaps would call him a fake again, Gaz goes straight to the guy's house and threatens him into giving Dib a good review. Needless to say that not only is Dib still alive by the end of the comic, he is also so grateful to Gaz that he lets her choose the restaurant.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously sweet content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's ideal life, in which he successfully captured Zim and kept him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then thrashed the entire Irken Armada as they attempted to invade Earth. Zim has [[CharacterizationMarchesOn clearly made some serious revisions to his personal concept of how Dib sees him]], for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he falls victim to his own machine and is delighted to find himself sharing the Membrane house with his other self—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] the latter took for the comic series.]]
* In Issue 38, GIR impersonates Dib, convincing everyone that the real Dib is clone, leading to him being chased into the woods. Gaz is visibly angry about this and, [[HiddenDepths seemingly surprising herself]], she decides to do Dib a favor, convincing GIR-as-Dib to try and expose Zim as an alien, which in the long run ends up ruining Zim's plan of the week.

* That waiter who only makes 5 monies a year is forced to bet 500,000 monies on Zim... and wins over 6 million monies when Zim makes it. He quits his awful job as a waiter immediately.

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously sweet content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's ideal life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has [[CharacterizationMarchesOn clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him]], for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is delighted to find himself sharing the Membrane house with his other self—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously sweet content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's dream life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has [[CharacterizationMarchesOn clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him]], for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is delighted to find himself sharing the Membrane house with his other self—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously heartwarming content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's dream life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has [[CharacterizationMarchesOn clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him]], for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is delighted to find himself sharing the Membrane house with his other self—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously heartwarming content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's dream life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has [[CharacterizationMarchesOn clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him]], for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is [[OtherMeIsAwesome delighted to find himself sharing a room with his other self]]—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously heartwarming content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's dream life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him, for [[FriendlyEnemy whatever reason]].]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is [[OtherMeIsAwesome delighted to find himself sharing a room with his other self]]—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* While Issue 37's ending would ''seem'' to put a rest to any potential heartwarming that could be derived from its subject (Dib waking up in a world where Zim is his brother and best friend, [[spoiler:purely because Zim's ego is huge enough to make him believe that this is an appropriate "fantasy" to program a LotusEaterMachine with]]), if you scratch the surface there ''is'' some seriously heartwarming content there anyway. No, really: [[spoiler: Zim's last crack at the LotusEaterMachine in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom" offered a far more accurate version of Dib's dream life, in which he successfully captures Zim and keeps him in a big test tube in his basement for years, then (ultimately) thrashes the entire Irken Armada as they attempt to invade Earth. Zim has clearly made some serious revisions to his concept of how Dib sees him, for whatever reason.]] More importantly, [[spoiler:Zim comes from a society with no sexual reproduction or familial bonds, so his entire understanding of sibling relationships likely comes from his time on Earth. The fact that he considers a sibling something to be ''desired''—even for himself, as he [[HoistedByHisOwnPetard falls victim to his own machine]] and is [[OtherMeIsAwesome delighted to find himself sharing a room with his other self]]—is pretty incredible given that the sibling relationship he's most familiar with is the one between Dib and ''Gaz'', and may have something to do with that [[TookALevelInKindness level in kindness]] she and Membrane took for the comic series.]]

* Issue 13 has a subtle one. Some aliens [[IHaveYourWife kidnap Dib]] in an effort to obtain Zim's humungoserum, mistakenly believing that he and Zim are friends. When they tell Zim they've taken his "best friend," Zim lets out a Characteristic BigNo before seeming to recall that "I don't ''have'' a best friend"— but only after a panel in which he [[http://majorspoilers.com/2016/09/19/preview-invader-zim-13/invaderzim-13-marketing_preview-3/ looks at GIR playing with Minimoose across the room]]. The implication is that he either stopped short ("Wait, what?") when he recalled that GIR was in the room with him and couldn't have been taken, or simply took a moment to make sure that the two most likely candidates for his "best friend" were still there.

* In "Hobo 13", when Zim throws Skoodge into the cavern of the Meat Thirsty Hogulus as a decoy to pass one of the obstacles, the DrillSergeantNasty asks about Skoodge when Zim claims the job to be done and forces Zim to try and save him. This is the literally the only consideration Skoodge is shown in the entire series, since he's considered to be a worthless, expendable peon even by his own race.

* For a truly insane yet extraordinary example, the last page of the Magazine/{{Nickelodeon Magazine}} comic: [[spoiler: Zim offers Dib to come with him to a planet consisting of giant space bunnies and soda after Zim becomes Earth's overlord and plans to destroy it via killer robots. Dib actually accepts, followed by the last picture being of the two boys doing just that and having the time of their lives.]] Negated some since it's EsotericHappyEnding incarnate and was most likely meant as a joke, but the show considered, how this situation could have went, and how much [[spoiler: the two have downer endings, Dib especially]] it still counts.

* In Issue 14, [[spoiler: Gaz has to keep Dib from going into a depressive state for a certain amount of time in order to prevent him from exploding due to accidentally drinking a substance created by Membrane. It was her fault to begin with since she unknowingly slipped Dib the vile because he was hogging the TV and apparently it was Dib's turn to choose where the family went for dinner night (and of course Bloaty's was selling a pair of multi-pocket shorts that Gaz really wanted), but throughout the comic it's clear her major concern was making sure that Dib didn't explode and only brought up going to Bloaty's about once if any. She pretty much goes all out for this too by having her fellow gamers participate in an elaborate scheme posing as different cryptic creatures in order to make Dib feel like he is great paranormal investigator. And when it turns out that Dib's camera was on the wrong setting and he was afraid Batflaps would call him a fake again, Gaz goes straight to the guy's house and threatens him into giving Dib a good review. Needless to say that not only is Dib still alive by the end of the comic, he is also so grateful to Gaz that he lets her choose the restaurant.]]

* For a truly insane yet extraordinary example, the last page of the Nickelodeon Magazine comic: [[spoiler: Zim offers Dib to come with him to a planet consisting of giant space bunnies and soda after Zim becomes Earth's overlord and plans to destroy it via killer robots. Dib actually accepts, followed by the last picture being of the two boys doing just that and having the time of their lives.]] Negated some since it's EsotericHappyEnding incarnate and was most likely meant as a joke, but the show considered, how this situation could have went, and how much [[spoiler: the two have downer endings, Dib especially]] it still counts.

** He also cooks dinner for his kids, and he grounds Dib for being gone all night (which, from a parent's respective, is pretty reasonable).